In the United States Pat. No. 3,636,611 issued Jan. 25, 1972 to Irving W. Rosenbaum entitled "Apparatus for Splicing Wires", and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention, there is disclosed a machine for producing a connector (also known as a splice) about a pair of wires which are to be electrically and mechanically joined. As is disclosed in the aforementioned patent, the apparatus thereof operates from a continuous supply of flat electrically conductive material (i.e. wire stock) and in one completely automatic cycle feeds, forms, drive and crimps the splice thereformed about the pair of wires to be joined. To this end, the apparatus of the aforementioned patent includes: means for feeding an appropriate length from the supply coil; means for severing said appropriate length; means for bending the cut-off length into an inverted U-shaped configuration about a temporarily positioned anvil; and means for driving the now appropriately shaped length into an appropriately configured generally U-shaped clinching die in which has been previously positioned the ends of the two wires to be joined by the splice thus formed.
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,611 the apparatus thereof represents a significant improvement over the previous technique of splicing wires together by a process which required the previous manufacture of preformed connectors (much like a supply of common, preformed staples) and the employment of a separate machine for driving said preformed staples into a crimping die about the wires to be joined.
The aforedescribed apparatus has in fact materially simplified and reduced cost associated with producing a splice for mechanically and electrically joining a pair of electrical conductors. However, in many applications, it is desirable and indeed sometimes necessary that the splice established between the pair of conductors be electrically insulated and/or sealed so as to be impervious to moisture and other contaminants. Thus, it will be appreciated that in the typical utilization of the aforedescribed apparatus to join a pair of wires which include a bare portion from which the insulation has been stripped, the placement of an electrical splice about the bare portions of the wires will of course provide the desired electrical and mechanical connections but will leave the metallic splice thus formed, as well as regions of the bare portions of the two wires, exposed to the atmosphere.
In the same vein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,261 issued Sept. 20, 1971 to Irwin Zahn et al. entitled "Method and Apparatus for Making Terminals and for Attaching the Same to Conductors", and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention, discloses a machine for making a terminal and for attaching the terminal to a conductor. The apparatus disclosed in this patent operates from a continuous elongated strip or flat wire supply and in one automatic or semi-automatic cycle forms the terminal and clamps the terminal on the conductor. The apparatus disclosed includes means for feeding the elongated strip, means for forming the terminal from said strip including means for forming an aperture in first portions of said strip, means for severing second portions from the remainder of said strip, each severed second portion forming a blank, means for bending a portion of said blank into an approximate U-shape about an anvil, and means for driving the blank into a die and means for clamping said approximately U-shaped part of the bent blank on a conductor previously introduced into said die.
As in the case of the splicing operation described above, in many applications, it is desirable and indeed sometimes necessary that the portion of the terminal attached to the conductor be electrically insulated and/or sealed.
Until the present invention, attempts to employ the aforementioned apparatus of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,636,611 and 3,605,261 or indeed any apparatus in such a manner as to produce an insulated splice or insulated terminal from a continuous supply roll have been unsuccessful.